Ford Motor Company Limited

Other

Yfs Automotive Systems, Inc

Daniel W Hall

William J Fuhrman

William Matthew Foster

Daniel Butum

Jeff Yager

Billy L Downey, Jr

Kent T Salvilla

Benjamin I Bachrach

Gotz S Hauser

Stanislaw Mocarski

Travis J Donley

Sang K Suh

John C Schneider

The inside wall of a fuel tank, and a sub-component are provided with locking means in the form of complementary formations that allow the sub-component to be coupled to the inside surface of the fuel tank wall. Interlocking of the complementary formations is achieved by moving the sub-component towards the wall providing angular movement to the sub-component relative to the fuel tank. A biasing structure imparts a tension between the sub-component and the fuel tank.

Vehicle fuel tank

The inside wall of a fuel tank, and a sub-component are provided with locking means in the form of complementary formations that allow the sub-component to be coupled to the inside surface of the fuel tank wall. Interlocking of the complementary formations is achieved by moving the sub-component towards the wall providing angular movement to the sub-component relative to the fuel tank.

A cold extrusion process for forming internal ring gears comprising the formation of an annular ring gear blank having precise inside and outside diameters, placing the workpiece over a circular mandrel having external gear forming die teeth and a pilot portion adapted to receive the blank, placing a die ring around the mandrel and the assembled workpiece, a circular punch arranged coaxially with respect to the mandrel and the workpiece, moving the punch into the annular space occupied by the workpiece between the die ring and the mandrel, advancing the punch by means of a press whereby the workpiece is cold formed through the external teeth of the mandrel, moving the die ring in synchronism with the downward motion of the workpiece through the die teeth thereby eliminating any frictional forces in the direction of motion of the die during the extrusion process, and retracting the die ring following the extrusion of the workpiece thereby permitting automated ejection of the workpiece.

Cold extrusion process for internal helical gear teeth

A die for use in extruding helical gears includes a die orifice at the upper end of the die teeth where the extrusion blank first enters the die. Each tooth is formed with a land directed parallel to the helix on the drive and trail side of the tooth and an end face perpendicular to the helix that intersects either a transition surface, directed perpendicular to the die axis, or a land. Alternatively, the end face can extend entirely across the tooth width from one land to the other without the use of the transition surface. Relief surfaces slope inwardly from the land and provide spaces within which the extrusion blank may expand without undue frictional contact with the die.

Die for extruding toothed helical members

A method of making sintered powder metal parts which particularly includes a hot forging step, is disclosed. Selected powders of a predetermined particle size distribution, are blended and agglomerated by cold compaction into a preform. The preform or briquette is then coated with a thin shell of a chemically inactive radiation absorbing material, preferably graphite, under ambient conditions. The coated briquette is then sintered in a continuous through-put furnace with the temperature maintained at a level of at least 2000.degree. F. and the part being subjected to the furnace heating for a period of 5-30 minutes. The sintered part may then be subjected to direct hot forging with the retained temperature of sintering utilizing the graphite coating as a die lubricant, or the sintered part may be cooled and then subsequently reheated for hot forging, again utilizing the retained graphite coating as a die lubricant. If hot forging is not to be employed, the graphite particles are removed such as by brushing so that sizing, machining or grinding may be carried out without the presence of the graphite coating.

Sintering of coated briquette

A method of making powder metal compacts having a low but optimized alloy content, the compacts being characterized by improved response to heat treatment (hardenability) and improved physical characteristics. A ferrous based powder is prepared having a predetermined particle size (about -80 mesh), a low O.sub.2 content (less than .25%), a predetermined particle shape, less than .04% carbon and balanced pre-alloyed ingredients (.2-1.0% nickel, .2-.8% Mo, and .25-.6% Mn). A nonferrous based powder having at least a high content of copper (-320 mesh if pure copper or about -200 mesh if alloyed copper) is admixed with the prealloyed ferrous based powder to achieve a Cu content of .2-2.1% in the resulting sintered material. Graphite powder is also admixed (.1-1.0% of admixture) to provide a carbon content of at least .17%, but up to .65% in the sintered material; the graphite is preferably a naturally occurring crystalline flake with up to 4.9% max. The admixture is compacted to form a preform having a green density of about 6.4 g/cm.sup.3 and the same weight as the intended forged product but with greater length and reduced width. The preform is ready to be sintered in a low O.sub.2 potential furnace at between 2050.degree.-2500.degree. F and subsequently hot forged at about 1800.degree. F under a force of 50 to 100 tons/in.sup.2. Also disclosed are related methods of making powder ingredients for compacts and the method of carrying the process through the forging stage. Variations of the alloying ingredients in said admixed powders include: (a) employing 0.4-0.65% each of one or all of the alloying ingredients for said prealloyed iron powder, admixing the ferrobased powder with pure copper powder (99.5% pure) in the amount typically about .9% of the mixture, (b) employing a 0.40-0.65 Ni, 0.45-0.65 Mo) prealloyed iron powder with a Cu-Mn powder, (c) employing a Mo prealloyed iron powder admixed with a Cu-Mn-Ni powder or Cu-Mn powder, or (d) employing Mo and Ni in the prealloyed ferrobased powder limited to .19% and employing additional Ni and Mn in a nonferrous based powder having copper to be admixed; graphite powder is added to the admixture in all of the foregoing.

Growing community of inventors

Dearborn Heights, MI, United States of America

Daniel W Hall